


Nutmeg Pancakes

by ConstancePenman



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Pancakes, Spoilers, but he's not in an alternate uuuuniverrrrse, rick is in jail, unsupervised portal jumping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-05-05 20:56:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5390036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstancePenman/pseuds/ConstancePenman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morty finds that he misses Rick more than he told him he would. Meanwhile, pancakes!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nutmeg Pancakes

**Author's Note:**

> So, I thought that maybe if Morty got his hands on Rick's portal gun he would hop dimensions to make it feel like his family was normal and okay again. I don't know. I just kinda went for it.

Morty cut a piece from his pancake with a fork and popped it into his mouth. Possibly, his favorite thing about the day was pancakes. Pancakes just really start the day off right. “Mm,” he hummed as he chewed. His mother made the best pancakes. “These are really good, Mom!”

“Yeah, you--you've really outdone yourself,” Rick agreed, enjoying his own pancakes.

“Thank you,” said Beth. “I actually put a little extra--”

Before Beth could reveal whatever she'd put into the pancakes, a familiar green portal opened on the wall. She silently hoped that it wasn't an alternate Rick again. That had not been an enjoyable incident.

However, instead of a Rick, a Morty exited the portal. There was something wrong with him. She could tell. Despite her not actually being this Morty’s mother, she knew his expressions, and this Morty was sad--nearly destroyed about something.

“Hey,” said the Morty. “C-can I join you guys?”

“Um,” said Jerry, not sure what was going on, which was his usual state of existence.

“Depends,” said Rick, narrowing his eyes at the newcomer. “What dimension are you from, M-Morty?”

“Aw jeez,” said Morty, trying to remember his dimension’s number.

“Not  you , Morty. The Morty that just came through the portal.”

“Oh,” said both the Morties.

The non-native Morty answered reluctantly, “C-137.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table. Jerry glanced around, confused as to why this was. 

Finally, Rick said, “S--sure, you can eat with us. Beth, sweetie? Do we have any more pancakes?”

“Yeah.” She stood to get another plate from the kitchen, saying, “I’ll be right back.”

Jerry, looking for something to do, brought in a seat for the other Morty to sit on. 

“Th-thanks, uh, Jerry.” Morty smiled as he sat.

Rick cut a triangle from his pile of pancakes and skewered them with his fork.

“Here you go. One plate of pancakes for our visitor,” Beth announced, trying to smile despite the tense atmosphere. 

“Thanks, Mo--Beth.”

“It’s okay to call her ‘Mom,’” Rick said, answering an unasked question. “You technically share enough genes to be related.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m not--I’ve, I’ve been around in--in other dimensions before. I know that, it’s just… weird.”

“I have to admit,” laughed Beth as she sat back down, “it is a bit weird for someone who looks just like my son to call me ‘Beth.’”

“But he’s not your son,” pointed out Jerry, oblivious to her attempt at making conversation.

“We know, Jerry,” Beth told him with her voice in the guise of happiness.

Silence reigned again. However, after a while, the Morty from C-137 tentatively tried, “So, what’s going on? In this dimension? Anything--anything interesting?”

It was Summer who first answered, regaling him with some story from school about how Toby Matthews said hello to her the other day. After that, conversation began to come easier. It was surprisingly simple, making conversation with an alternate version of a family member. Still, there was something off about this Morty. Something sad. 

Morty--the Morty from this dimension--chewed on his food, trying to figure out what that might be. He gazed inquisitively at the other Morty sitting across from him. What dimension had he said he’d been from? C-137? What had happened to this Morty to make him so… sad?

“Morty?” he finally asked.

“Mm?”

“What happened? Why did you come here?”

C-137 looked startled, then saddened.

“I--”

“Don’t--don’t ask alternate yous rude questions.”

Morty burrowed his eyebrows. “But--”

“No, Morty.” Rick glared at his Morty until he saw that look in his eyes that meant he had given up. He knew what had happened to this Morty--what his Rick had done. Rick also knew that dimension C-137’s Morty didn’t realize what had actually happened. If this Morty told the story, his Morty--or, oh god,  Beth \--might think their own Rick would leave too. Their dimension and C-137’s were very similar after all. The sad thing was, Rick know if it came down to it, he  would leave to protect his family. Their safety was more important than his. 

“It’s okay,” said C-137 Morty, which was possibly  the worst thing he could possibly say. “I…” It was then that he looked around the table at this Smith family, so similar to his own. He tasted the nutmeg in his mouth--something his mom had tried not too long ago. Beth smiled at him encouragingly, and he knew that he couldn’t tell them. His Rick had been gone for what felt like years but he knew had only been a bit over a month, but here was their Rick. C-137 glanced at him just as the scientist skewered more pancakes onto his fork. He looked so comfortable, so at home. It almost hurt, seeing someone else’s Rick sitting at their table like he would never leave. But he  had left.

C-137 Morty poked at his pancakes contemplatively.  Or maybe that was just my Rick.

“Morty?” asked Morty. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, y--yeah, I was just…” He inhaled. He couldn’t tell them. They were so happy, all together like this. Like a family. “I…” He couldn’t make them worried about their Rick abandoning them like his had. “I’d actually rather not talk about it.”

“That’s okay,” said Beth. “It must have been pretty bad for you to steal Dad’s equipment.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” C-137 glanced at the portal gun he’d used to get to this peaceful dimension. “Yeah.”  Wait a second.  “Wait, no.”

Jerry raised an eyebrow, eyes still on his ipad. “No?”

“No. I didn’t steal this, it was…”  It was sent to me.  “Oh.” He stood, trying to look dramatic, and accidentally knocked the chair over. Still, he achieved the desired affect as he set the chair right and shot a portal back on the wall. “Thanks for breakfast!” He waved in parting before hopping into the portal like he’d done it a hundred times.

“Oh.” Beth looked at the spot on the wall where the portal had just been. “Bye.”

Rick stuffed more pancakes into his mouth.


End file.
